define irony?

Answer 1

Paris Hilton saying someone else looks "cheap".

Answer 2

Irony, from the Greek ειρων (self-deprecator), is a literary or rhetorical device in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says, and what is generally understood (either at the time, or in the later context of history). Irony may also arise from a discordance between acts and results, especially if it is striking, and known to a later audience. A certain kind of irony may result from the act of pursuing a desired outcome, resulting in the opposite effect, but again, only if this is known to a third party. In this case the aesthetic arises from the realization that an effort is sharply at odds with an outcome, and that in fact the very effort has been its own undoing.

More generally, irony is understood as an aesthetic valuation by an audience, which relies on a sharp discordance between the real and the ideal, and which is variously applied to texts, speech, events, acts, and even fashion. All the different senses of irony revolve around the perceived notion of an incongruity, or a gap, between an understanding of reality, or expectation of a reality, and what actually happens.

This is a definition from Wikipedia which I found but I thought I would add my own examples of irony to illustrate it. Some good examples might be a power cut at a conference about improving energy supplies or a police car being stolen from outside a police station. Or perhaps your boss being late for a meeting on timekeeping and efficiency. Quirky stories on the news website Ananova often contain irony. Irony can also be tragic such as the story I read recently of a young woman who died in a plane crash when she went skydiving to cure her phobia of heights and flying.

Answer 3

Irony is a form of speech in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the words used. Irony involves the perception that things are not what they are said to be or what they seem. Dramatic irony lies in the audience's deeper perceptions of a coming fate, which contrast with a character's lack of knowledge about said fate. A common metaphor for using irony is to "have your tongue in cheek".

Answer 4

My own definition: Can be a life experience that takes place, that could be surprizing, a lesson or a consequence one does not expect that leaves you thinking on the scenario that took place.

Example:
*** ce chap. 2 p. 16 par. 7 Disagreements About Evolution-Why? ***

7 A London Times writer, Christopher Booker (who accepts evolution), said this about it: "It was a beautifully simple and attractive theory. The only trouble was that, as Darwin was himself at least partly aware, it was full of colossal holes." Regarding Darwin's Origin of Species, he observed: "We have here the supreme irony that a book which has become famous for explaining the origin of species in fact does nothing of the kind."

Answer 5

Irony, sarcasm, satire indicate mockery of something or someone. The essential feature of irony is the indirect presentation of a contradiction between an action or expression and the context in which it occurs. In the figure of speech, emphasis is placed on the opposition between the literal and intended meaning of a statement; one thing is said and its opposite implied, as in the comment, “Beautiful weather, isn't it?” made when it is raining or nasty. Ironic literature exploits, in addition to the rhetorical figure, such devices as character development, situation, and plot to stress the paradoxical nature of reality or the contrast between an ideal and actual condition, set of circumstances, etc., frequently in such a way as to stress the absurdity present in the contradiction between substance and form. Irony differs from sarcasm in greater subtlety and wit. In sarcasm ridicule or mockery is used harshly, often crudely and contemptuously, for destructive purposes. It may be used in an indirect manner, and have the form of irony, as in “What a fine musician you turned out to be!” or it may be used in the form of a direct statement, “You couldn't play one piece correctly if you had two assistants.” The distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal inflection, whereas satire and irony, arising originally as literary and rhetorical forms, are exhibited in the organization or structuring of either language or literary material. Satire usually implies the use of irony or sarcasm for censorious or critical purposes and is often directed at public figures or institutions, conventional behavior, political situations, etc.

Answer 6

According to Dictionary.com;


i·ro·ny1 /ˈaɪrəni, ˈaɪər-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ahy-ruh-nee, ahy-er-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -nies.
1.the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning: the irony of her reply, “How nice!” when I said I had to work all weekend.
2.Literature.
a.a technique of indicating, as through character or plot development, an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.
b.(esp. in contemporary writing) a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory or complementary impulses, attitudes, etc., esp. as a means of indicating detachment from a subject, theme, or emotion.
3.Socratic irony.
4.dramatic irony.
5.an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.
6.the incongruity of this.
7.an objectively sardonic style of speech or writing.
8.an objectively or humorously sardonic utterance, disposition, quality, etc.
[Origin: 1495–1505; < L Ä«rōnÄ«a < Gk eirōneía dissimulation, sarcasm, understatem

Answer 7

Washington National Airport being renamed Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after the President who fired 11,359 of the 12,000 air traffic controllers who went on strike in 1981 after their union, PATCO, had endorsed him in the 1980 election. THAT is irony!

Answer 8

Irony is like when you expect something to happen, but the exact opposite or something different happens in an interesting or funny way.

Answer 9

sarcasm: witty language used to convey insults or scorn; "he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"; "irony is wasted on the stupid"; "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"--Jonathan Swift
incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs; "the irony of Ireland's copying the nation she most hated"
a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs

Answer 10

Irony
humor based on using words to suggest the opposite of their literal meaning